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Fake cards imperil Afghanistan vote
[Al Jazeera]  Thousands of fake voter registration cards are in circulation in Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, in an exclusive report from Jalalabad, says sources have told her the fake cards, being sold in the country for just over 300 Pak rupees (USD3) apiece, were printed in the Pak city of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar. One of the agents selling the professionally made cards said his network had sold 1.5 million cards over the past three months. It is believed that there are many such networks selling the fraudulent cards. About five million people are expected to vote in Saturday's elections. If election observers fail to detect these fake cards, the millions of fraudulent ballots in circulation could have a significant, maybe even decisive impact, on the whole election.
Jalalabad appears to be at the centre of the fake-cards market. Last year's elections in Afghanistan were marred by claims of fraud and corruption. Complaints of vote rigging and irregularities plagued the process, which yielded a questionable verdict for the incumbent president, Hamid Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai. In the course of its investigation, Afghanistan's Electoral Complaint Commission, backed by the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society, found "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in certain provinces. Karzai's campaign front man dismissed the allegations of fraud as "rumours". Posted by: Fred 2010-09-16 |
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